SKS Gas Chamber won't come off... Advice?

Recently inherited my stepfathers Chinese SKS, and when i field stripped it to clean off all the storage gunk i found that the gas chamber isn't coming off when i raise the operating rod. i've tried maintaining upward pressure on the chamber and moving the op rod around, nothing is working. would love some advice.

ha alright i'll do that. so i don't have to worry about breaking anything? i've been putting a flathead screwdriver between the chamber and the barrel in front of the handguard and trying to pry it off, but i don't want to destroy the gun either.

should the handguard bring the gas system out with it? i can't get that to move either. i'm sure this whole situation has a very simple solution, but a noob like myself has yet to find it :/

My handguard did. I found i had to swing that little lever on the rear sight block around a bit to find the spot that would free the gas tube without launching the operating rod at my face (seriously, safety goggles the first time). Have you checked Youtube for a demo vid? They have them on many different things, some VERY different.

yeah i've looked at almost every youtube vid i can find, but they all have their F***ing hand in front of the lever when they get the gas toob (spelling error intended) to come out. i can see it has a lot of residue and crap around the point where the gas tube comes out.